Fun & Fiascos on the 4th!

Kayli and I decided to accept an invitation to come and hang out with Aunt Eileen, Uncle Gary, and cousin, Anna, at their cabin in the Ozarks, for the weekend. Amazingly, we managed to dodge any rain that came through the area, with the exception of one brief downpour while making a "grocery run."
THE FUN...
Kayli and I arrived late afternoon on Saturday, settled in, swam in the lake and had dinner, before heading out to a beachside restaurant, where there was going to be a fireworks show tonight. We sat in beach chairs, on the edge of the water, relaxing with a margarita, while the girls played in the water and the sand. The weather was BEAUTIFUL, and well, with our feet in the sand and a drink in our hand, life was good!



THE FIASCO...
It was late when we arrived back at the cabin and quite dark. We had to use a flashlight to see our way from the car to the back door. Kayli was taking a turn holding the big flashlight and shining it on the ground ahead for all to see where they were walking, all except herself! She suddenly tripped and fell flat on her face, unable to catch herself because she was holding the big flashlight. Of course my heart skipped a beat when she immediately cupped her hand to her mouth and began to scream. I scooped her up and got her inside to discover that she had split open her bottom lip. I feared for her teeth, but thank goodness they were intact! She had been talking all evening about sleeping in the bunk beds with her cousin, but now all she wanted to do was snuggle up to her Mama, and so she did, and the bunk beds would have to wait for another time.
You can see a little bit of that fat lip in this picture...

MORE FUN...
Sunday morning was overcast. Perfect weather for taking the boat out! No boat traffic yet. Maybe everyone is afraid it will rain. OR Maybe everyone is still sleeping off last night's alcohol? Regardless, we were ready to go. Both girls were excited to try out a ride in the tube. This would be Kayli's first time to do something like this. Eileen took Anna out first, riding the tube with Anna in her lap. Then she did the same with Kayli. Then, Kayli wanted her Mom to come with her, so, in the tube I climbed. The tube had a "slow leak" so it had lost enough air by now that we were riding low in the water and, in fact, taking ON water. Oh well, a few times around the cove and we called it good. Kayli was thrilled!!!







THE FIASCO...
We're all on the dock, loading stuff in the boat, towels, bags, kids...and as Gary lifts Kayli from the dock to the boat, one of her all time FAVORITE Little Mermaid heavy plastic Flip Flops, falls off her foot into the water, and, of course goes straight to the bottom!!! Oh, my, there were tears and more tears. It was so sad!

SHE DOESN'T FORGET...
The next morning, as we are waking up, Kayli says to me "Hey Mom, remember my shoe, sinking to the bottom of the lake?" Yes, Kayli, I remember. "That's so sad, Mom." Yes, it is Kayli. But, then she goes on to remind me that it was just as sad when we told her that story about Eileen getting knocked off the dock when we were all little, and how she sunk to the bottom and had to hold her breath until Grandpa dove in with all his clothes and shoes on, to save her. "Good thing Eileen could hold her breath, right Mom?" Yes, Kayli, it was a good thing. "But, too bad my shoe couldn't do the same thing!" Yeah, too bad.
MORE FUN...
We had lots more fun, going to a playground, eating hamburgers and fresh corn on the cob, playing with the dog, and taking the boat out Sunday night to watch fireworks over the water. Too bad Kayli missed the show, as she fell sound asleep once that boat started moving! She was exhausted from all this "non-stop activity" and by the time we got home, so was I!



Yes, Kayli has connected the dog's chain to her necklace. I wouldn't let her keep putting it on the dog, so I guess she decided to put it on herself!



The girls found a very furry caterpillar and were playing with it!
It sure was nice to get away for a weekend and forget about the "house selling" for a while!